Mass Hysteria In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

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Can you imagine being placed into a society where because of a few insignificant events there is widespread chaos and disorder that consumes everyday life? This is what happens when Mass Hysteria is experienced within a society or group. According to Dictionary.com, Mass Hysteria can be defined as “a condition affecting a group of persons, characterized by excitement or anxiety, irrational behavior or beliefs, or inexplicable symptoms of illness.” The concept of Mass Hysteria is a unique dynamic of a group of people who share the same beliefs and this is shown in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Mass Hysteria is an important aspect that should be thoroughly explained, because of this it is important to answer the question: to what extent
There are many instances of in The Crucible where mass hysteria plays a big factor of the development of the story. One of the first instances occurs in Act 1. Arthur Miller describes the event of Parris questioning Abigail and Tituba about Betty on page 41 in The Crucible. “Abigail: She makes me drink blood! Tituba: No, no, sir, I don’t truck with no Devil? Hale: Why can she not wake? Are you silencing this child? This is an example of hysteria because Hale irrationally accepts what Abigail says. It is irrational because Abigail had no evidence and there was no way of proving Abigail’s claims but Hale believes them to be true. Another example of mass hysteria is demonstrated in Act three. Arthur Miller describes the tension in courtroom between Abigail, Danforth, and Mary Warren on page 101. Abigail: A wind, a cold wind, has come. Hathorne: She is cold, Your Honor, touch her! Danforth: I say to you, do you send your spirit out? This is an example of mass hysteria according to our definition because Abigail exhibits a sudden symptom and because Danforth believes that Mary caused Abigail to be cold solely based on the actions of Mary. It was irrational for Danforth to think that because Abigail cold have been acting out the incident so that the judges would believe her

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